Is It Just Me?

Or maybe someone else notices this. I'll be running on the side of the road and an approaching car will move over to the center of the road without crossing over the center line. As if there is some sort of barrier that won't let them cross over. I could see if there is another car in the other lane. This seems to happen quite a bit.

Comes a time, when the blind man, takes your hand and says, "Don't ya see?"

Sure, many drivers do this and that's fine. I don't need the whole lane for running. What you have to watch out for are the drivers who (subconciously?) notice you and then veer towards you - drifting over onto the shoulder of the road. Usually, they are in an intoxication stupor, chatting on the cell phone, or just malicious.

There is an interesting psychology between rule followers and rule breakers. I'd love to put up a stoplight at an intersection in the middle of nowhere. When a car approached, turn the signal red on them and just leave it red. Make sure it was at some intersection in the Midwest with two straight, flat roads where you could see a long way down the perpendicular road. It would be interesting to see how long people would sit there before deciding to run the light.

Short Term Goal - 17:59 5K

Medium Term Goal - 2:54:59 marathon

Long Term Goal - To have been a runner half my life (I started at age 45)

Almost every day I run about a half mile down a marked three lane road, the center being a turning lane for an elementary and middle school. Even with an entire extra lane, I'm always puzzled by how many drivers try hard to not cross the line into the center lane even with no other cars in sight. When I drive I like to move way over, if for no other reason than to let the runner know that I see him/her.

As long as they move over, even a bit, at least tells me they see me. I run on a road with a pretty big shoulder, so even without crossing the double yellow, I have enough room to feel comfortable. My favorites are the ones who clearly see you (eye contact as they approach) and refuse to move an inch. Luckily I've never encountered what Ross33 mentioned about cars moving closer. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

Most drivers in my neighborhood pull way over into the oncoming lane. If there is a blind curve ahead, I actually prefer that drivers stay in their own lane to avoid potential sudden swerves when a car comes at them around the bend.

I certainly can't blame a driver for not crossing the line and risking his own safety to give a runner some extra room. The runner should be safely off on the shoulder leaving plenty of room for a car to be able to stay in it's own lane.

I often run on roads with bicycle lanes (I run in the bicycle lane). Cars may not move over at all, which is fine because they don't need to. I wonder if the line dividing bicycle the lane from the car lane provides a feeling of physical separation and thus causes drivers to move over less.

I often run on roads with bicycle lanes (I run in the bicycle lane). Cars may not move over at all, which is fine because they don't need to. I wonder if the line dividing bicycle the lane from the car lane provides a feeling of physical separation and thus causes drivers to move over less.

Yes. For that reason, cyclists are taught not to ride all the way to the right on roads without bicycle lanes. I never push myself all the way to the left. In that case, I leave myself no room to maneuver other than leaving the road and that's not always safe. Occasionally, a car will have to stop or slow down significantly for me. Oh well. I do give a nice wave to any car that stops or that moves way out of the way.

Short Term Goal - 17:59 5K

Medium Term Goal - 2:54:59 marathon

Long Term Goal - To have been a runner half my life (I started at age 45)

It is about margin of error. What if a dog darts out into the road? What if the runner trips and lurches into the road? what if the car has a blowout? The consequences could easily be very unamusing.

This exactly. If I'm the driver, I always move over a lane if it's unoccupied and I can do so safely. Why not? It's easy to do, and I appreciate the courtesy when drivers do the same for me. It keeps me from having to move off the shoulder towards the ditch and possibly slipping sideways or tripping......which happened in November due to an oncoming truck that didn't move over....the result was a groin strain that still aches. Not a catastrophe, but still unamusing.

There is an interesting psychology between rule followers and rule breakers. I'd love to put up a stoplight at an intersection in the middle of nowhere. When a car approached, turn the signal red on them and just leave it red. Make sure it was at some intersection in the Midwest with two straight, flat roads where you could see a long way down the perpendicular road. It would be interesting to see how long people would sit there before deciding to run the light.

So... inquiring minds want to know. How long would YOU wait, LTH? Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker?

There is an interesting psychology between rule followers and rule breakers. I'd love to put up a stoplight at an intersection in the middle of nowhere. When a car approached, turn the signal red on them and just leave it red. Make sure it was at some intersection in the Midwest with two straight, flat roads where you could see a long way down the perpendicular road. It would be interesting to see how long people would sit there before deciding to run the light.

So... inquiring minds want to know. How long would YOU wait, LTH? Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker?

I think the US is the only country where people would wait. Maybe Canada (but that's not really another country). Seems like every other country traffic lights are completely disregarded or partially followed if there's also a policeman there.

There is an interesting psychology between rule followers and rule breakers. I'd love to put up a stoplight at an intersection in the middle of nowhere. When a car approached, turn the signal red on them and just leave it red. Make sure it was at some intersection in the Midwest with two straight, flat roads where you could see a long way down the perpendicular road. It would be interesting to see how long people would sit there before deciding to run the light.

So... inquiring minds want to know. How long would YOU wait, LTH? Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker?

When it comes to traffic laws 100% of drivers have been rule breakers.

There is a signal at an intersection near my house on busy north-south road. The east-west road has very very little traffic. When driving north and making a left the light doesn't turn based on your presence in the left hand turn lane. It waits for cars on the east-west road or it times out. And the timing is loooooooooong.

I have lived there for ~17 years and can remember twice I've made the left with the red. There were no cars visible in any direction.

In the past few years I've noticed they are putting in left hand turn lights around here that flash yellow after the green indicating you may proceed but the cars coming at you have green and the right of way. They are typically found at intersections like I've described above.

I appreciate it when cars move into the other lane and wave. On the back roads without shoulders most do so. Almost everyone moves over at least a littl unless two cars meet. There are a few who don't move over at all, and a couple that seem bound to battle me for the lane. They win. One will be aggressive toward me (and others) and he has initiated some scary confrontations.

The main highway with a shoulder is what is scary. Cars zoom past within a foot. I almost jumped over a guard rail into the bay when one car steered straight at me. I think the driver saw me and did that fixated move where they steer toward what they are looking at. It swerved away just in time.

There is an interesting psychology between rule followers and rule breakers. I'd love to put up a stoplight at an intersection in the middle of nowhere. When a car approached, turn the signal red on them and just leave it red. Make sure it was at some intersection in the Midwest with two straight, flat roads where you could see a long way down the perpendicular road. It would be interesting to see how long people would sit there before deciding to run the light.

So... inquiring minds want to know. How long would YOU wait, LTH? Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker?

I'm very much a rule breaker. There are two lights at the intersection of U.S Route 35 and the exit and entrance ramps from I-64 near my house. When I was in the Army Reserve, I needed to leave my house around 5:00 a.m. in order to get to drill on time. If either light was red when I got there, I'd look to see if I saw any lights from other cars and if I didn't, I'd go on through.

Short Term Goal - 17:59 5K

Medium Term Goal - 2:54:59 marathon

Long Term Goal - To have been a runner half my life (I started at age 45)

Putting on my driving hat, I give a much wider berth to joggers (refuse to give them respect by calling them runners) who appear totally oblivious to their surroundings. I live on a corner & on a bit of a hill. My neighborhood is commonly used by runners to bypass the busier 2 lane road with no shoulder. I can't tell you how many times I come around the one blind corner (it is at a stop sign) to someone jogging on the right-hand side of the road, with headphones and has NO CLUE that there is a car behind them. They get a very wide berth. I am honestly surprised that no one has been hit by a car, a lot of people ignore that stop sign and whip around the corner.

I agree with the 100% of drivers are lawbreakers., I know there are driving rules I don't always obey. Sometimes it is a matter of self preservation. I remember driving to work after Sandy. Naturally some traffic lights were out. Law is to treat it as a 4-way stop. I swear, I was going to get run over or run into. Plus, this was driving in East Baltimore, I want to stay locked in my car and not worry about getting out of it after an accident.

I hate running on busy roads and the tension in my body affects my form. When I am driving, I move over. I am always worried about: what if the runner trips or the biker falls right out into my path? Having hit a dog before and reliving the 'thump' for days....I cannot imagine hitting a person. It makes me nauseated even typing this possibility.

I'm baffled by the people that make NO effort to give space. I had someone's mirror brush my jacket shoulder years ago and I've been extremely cautious ever since. This is why I always run against traffic and consider it my duty to know exactly what every vehicle is doing. I give a happy little wave to everyone that pulls even the slightest bit wide, and I step off into the dirt the second I think they might not see me. (This is on a busier road/highway)

Most of my running is done on lonely country roads with excellent line of sight, where I may or may not encounter any vehicles at all. I usually stay roughly mid-lane going the "wrong" way. When I see a vehicle approaching I just check the other lane and switch sides of the road temporarily. These roads have no shoulder at all, so if there are two vehicle coming in opposite directions, again, off to the dirt I go.

I drive a truck and always see runners in all the neighborhoods. If I see a runner and nobody is in the opposite lane, I pull into it. That goes for cyclists too. Though they think they own the road anyway Lol.

Comes a time, when the blind man, takes your hand and says, "Don't ya see?"

The first and last two miles of my "from the home" runs are on two lane roads with little, if any shoulder. Fortunately, there is also little traffic on these roads. Most drivers will move over about a half a lane (so crossing over the center lane). There are the few that give you nothing, so I move into the grass, and then there are the few that, if there is a car approaching from the opposite direction, they will slow to a stop until I'm past. Not really necessary, but appreciated.

When I'm driving on that road I'm always looking for runners in the most dangerous spots and give them the half lane if available, or at least move to the center with oncoming.